Abstract
This book has been published as part of the international Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurship Practices (STEP) project which has a focus on engendering the entrepreneurial spirit and mind-set in family businesses across generations, and among their next-generation business leaders through venturing, renewal and innovation. It forms the newest volume in the STEP series first published in 2010. As such, this book makes a large contribution in broadening our knowledge on the pathways used in practice by business families in introducing, involving and developing next-generation leaders. Besides this particular focus on next-generation leadership and entrepreneurship on which insights are clearly lacking in theory and practice, the book is further strengthened by the qualitative research approach and the international character of the cases and the contributors. The findings in this book are entirely based on qualitative research, where in each chapter a single case study or multiple cases are being questioned and analysed. The 27 family business cases presented in the book come from all over the world, representing nine different countries going from Europe to Asia and South America. They form a clear illustration that many of the acknowledged challenges and dilemmas in times of succession are shared among many family businesses, irrespective of their origin or culture.
The book starts with a general introduction after which it is further divided in three parts dealing with the following topics: developing leadership capabilities, family values and professionalization, and preparation of next-generation leaders. The introduction helps the reader to gain a general overview and some integrative insights for each chapter, as well as some practical research implications. Each of the three parts is further split up into three chapters in which a valuable overview of the literature is presented, followed by an analysis of one or more case studies leading to conclusions with both theoretical and practical implications. All chapters focus on the central research question to what extent values, professionalization, leadership style, parenting and other contingent factors help to create and maintain an entrepreneurial culture and to develop an entrepreneurial attitude among next-generation family members.
Chapter 2 in Part I focuses on the process of becoming a second-generation successor, and on the role of entrepreneurship and socialization, based on the perceptions of eight family business chief executive officers (CEOs) in Sweden. Chapter 3 focuses on the development of responsible ownership and on the role of next generations in the company based on the point of view of five family businesses in Colombia. The choice between a single successor versus collective leadership is investigated in Chapter 4. Based on a family business case study in India, several building blocks are forwarded that facilitate team-based leadership in family firms.
In Part II, focusing on the role of values and professionalization in preparing next-generation leaders, Chapter 5 discusses the influencing factors of transgenerational professionalization and how this can stimulate the entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviours among next-generation leaders, based on the experience of an Italian family business. Chapter 6 describes the importance of family values in remaining competitive and in realizing transgenerational potential in a Dutch family business. In Chapter 7, the significance is indicated of transferring the company culture based on long-term orientation and human-oriented values to the next generation, by presenting the case of a long-standing Japanese family business.
Chapter 8 in Part III illustrates the practice of diversification and new venture creation by next-generation family members and non-family managers, and elaborates on the role of trust in binding two generations and the family firm employees, by means of a Malaysian family business case study. The Brazilian case in Chapter 9 gives insight into the process of transferring the family’s legacy from the first to the third generation, and how this is influenced by social capital and transgenerational learning. Finally, nine family businesses in Spain form the basis in Chapter 10 to delineate the role of different parenting styles in the development of flexibility and cohesion among next-generation family members.
In each chapter, the highly scientific and qualitative nature becomes clear from the literature study, the methodology used and the performed analyses, leading to findings which have a high practical relevance. The latter is stimulated by the mini case study presented at the start of each chapter, describing a specific and real dilemma in a family business, and illustrating the particular questions to be tackled in the development of next-generation leaders. This forms an appealing approach for setting the goals and expectations for the reader at the outset of each chapter.
The only remark regarding this interesting work concerns the difficulty for the reader to differentiate between the three suggested themes. As brought forward by the authors themselves, there is quite a large spill-over of the chapters into multiple themes, making it less obvious to see the common thread within each part and especially how this differs from the other parts in the book. Refraining from partitioning the book in three segments, including a general conclusion at the end of the book, and/or considering a different logic in structuring the different chapters could have helped the reader in this respect.
To conclude, this book forms a recommended reading on a subject that is largely understudied, but that confronts many family members in general, and next-generation family members more particular in daily practice. Besides some main struggles that characterize a family business succession process, it also focuses on the various opportunities that intergenerational succession can bring to the family business. It gives interesting insights into some valuable routes to develop next-generation leaders that can definitely inspire scholars, incumbents and potential successors in broadening their perspective and finding common answers to the further growth of the family firm over generations.